Tag archives for Estéban
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 12
Posted by Hi Race fans! I’m Rowdy Gaines reporting on the second to last day of the Great Turtle Race, and what a day! Estéban, Nueva Esperanza, and Seabiscuit all crossed into the Caribbean in a photo finish, but it looks like it was Seabiscuit by a beak! Estéban and Nueva Esperanza finished in a tie for third place, but both made super efforts toward the finish.
Illustration by Chris Rooney
It looks like the mad dash that Nueva made during the last couple of days has left her exhausted. She stopped not too long after crossing the finish line. Maybe she’s taking it easy now that she’s in those warm, soothing Caribbean waters. Estéban crossed into the Caribbean and is now cruising up the coast of the Windward Islands.
Hold on a second! Look at Wawa Bear! It appears her coach, Jason Lezak (who also coached Seabiscuit to an amazing finish) has convinced her that it was time to go to her favorite beach in French Guiana! She’s making great time now, but will she make it before the Race ends tomorrow?
Grembo Jones and Searcher are still hanging around in the eastern Atlantic in the general vicinity of the Cabo Verde Islands. Nightswimmer seems to be headed straight to Georgia. She traveled a long distance, though, which means she knows the way and will be a contender next year!
It has all come down to this: tomorrow is the final day of the Race! How will the Race end? We’ll announce which turtle covered the most ocean during the Race. Visit the interactive Race Map to track all the action. Don’t miss the last day!
Welcome to the final week of the Great Turtle Race! I’m Rowdy Gaines, and we are thrilled to report that after thousands of miles of swimming, we have a winner! Backspacer has finally ended the suspense! She made up her mind and crossed the finish line through the Windward Islands, between St. Vincent and St. Lucia. Now she’s doing a victory lap inside the Caribbean. Congratulations to Backspacer and her coach, Eric Shanteau!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Who will be next? There are several turtles who seem to be poised to beat the buzzer and finish the Race. Nueva Esperanza sure seems to be picking up speed. She is heading toward the Caribbean after being hundreds of kilometers out to sea. And how about Estéban? He seemed to almost cross the finish line, but bounced back and did a loop! Maybe he’s following Backspacer’s example.
Check out Seabiscuit! He’s oh-so-close to the finish line off Suriname and French Guiana! Maybe he’s waiting for Wawa Bear. Lindblad the Explorer seems to have stopped in her tracks like Billy did before. Maybe she’s whale watching, or maybe she’s just resting up for the final push to the finish line. She’d better hurry–she doesn’t have much time! Nightswimmer has changed course and is now heading west toward the US. Check out the interactive Race Map. Who do you think will be the next turtle to cross?
We know leatherbacks are deep divers, so what about our Race turtles? The deepest dive challenge results are in! The winner of this challenge is Grembo Jones. Grembo made a total of 6 dives that were more than 800 meters (2,625 feet) deep!
On the final day of the Race, we’ll announce the winner of the granddaddy of all swimming competitions: total distance traveled. Olympic star Aaron Peirsol is the official coach for this challenge. Check back on Wednesday, April 29th to see which turtle will claim the title of champion traveler!
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 11
Rowdy Gaines here with an update on the Great Turtle Race. Backspacer continues to dance around that finish line, now heading north. She’s so close to the finish line, but won’t cross. Let’s hope she makes up her mind to finish soon! Wawa Bear did some more loops, so she must not be ready to stop swimming yet!
Estéban is on a mission! He’s cruising fast toward the Caribbean, looking to enter near the Windward Islands. If this were a NASCAR race, Cali would be the winner! He seems to have completed a full lap through the Atlantic from the point where he began his migration.
Nueva Esperanza and Seabiscuit have peeled off from the rest of the group, but Nueva is pointed toward the Caribbean Sea and Seabiscuit toward the Guianas. Are they finally making their move?
We still haven’t heard from Billy, so it looks like his transmitter has stopped working altogether. This can happen for lots of reasons, but it always happens. Sooner or later, transmitters stop sending signals, and we don’t hear from those turtles after that. While we don’t know exactly what happened to Billy’s transmitter. Whatever happened, let’s hope that Billy makes it down to the Caribbean after all!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
With only three days left in the Race, it’s coming down to the wire to see how many turtles can cross the finish line before the end. Check back tomorrow to see if any turtles can make the final push to be the first to get into the Caribbean! We’ll also be announcing which turtle made the most dives into deep waters! In the meantime, check out the interactive Race Map to relive what’s happened in the race so far.
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 10
Happy weekend everyone! I’m Rowdy Gaines reporting live on the Great Turtle Race!
Backspacer spun around, and then buzzed past Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada, but she still won’t cross the finish line! We’ve seen these turtles do some unexpected things in the Race so far, but what is up with Backspacer?
Speaking of spinning, Nueva Esperanza twirled in place and is now pointed toward the west, as is Seabiscuit. Estéban is really moving toward the finish line now.
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Cali is now near the coast of the U.S. It looks like he might even be heading back to Canada!
We’re certainly in for an exciting finish to the Race!
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 9
Hello again Race fans, I’m Rowdy Gaines bringing you the Great Turtle Race! We have some major action in the Race as the week comes to a close.
Backspacer is very close to the finish line but won’t cross. She just can’t seem to make up her mind about entering the Caribbean. Will her dawdling cost her the Race? Will another turtle take advantage of her indecisiveness and speed past her across the finish line?
Several turtles are spinning around the same area north of South America, including Lindblad the Explorer, Nightswimmer, Estéban, Seabiscuit, and Nueva Esperanza. Who will break out of that pack? It looks like Estéban might be the first to leave that group and head for the finish line! But where will he cross?
Grembo Jones and Searcher are still off on their own, probably taking advantage of being away from all those bigger turtles and finding lots of jellies all for themselves!
Cali definitely seems to be heading away from the Caribbean and back toward New England and Nova Scotia. Does he think this racetrack goes in a loop? Visit the Race Map to check your favorite turtle’s position.
The results are in for the longest dive competition! All of the turtles made dives lasting longer than one hour, but Cali is the clear winner of this challenge–he made an incredible 148 dives longer than 60 minutes!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Check back on Monday, April 27th to find out which turtle made the most frequent deep dives. We might even have a winner in the Race on Monday!
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 6
Hi, turtle lovers! This is Rowdy Gaines reporting on the Great Turtle Race. The Race is getting very exciting! The turtles are all making moves toward the Caribbean, but using very different strategies to get there.
Billy is getting really close to the finish line in the northern Caribbean. Will he be the first to cross it? The other turtles hope not!
Nueva Esperanza and Wawa Bear are still nearly tied and heading toward South America, with Estéban and following.
Keep an eye on Seabiscuit-he’s not far behind! Is he going to try to overtake the others from behind, just like his famous racehorse namesake and his famous human coach, Olympic relay star Jason Lezak?
Grembo Jones and Searcher are still the farthest east of all the turtles Are they trying a new route to the Caribbean, or have they been distracted by some tasty jellies?
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Check out the position of all the turtles on the interactive Race Map.
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 5
Hello Race fans! I’m Race commentator Rowdy Gaines. This week in the Great Turtle Race is going to be the most important, as the turtles try to cover great distances as fast as possible and get to their Caribbean destinations!
Nueva Esperanza and Wawa Bear are neck-and-neck and look like they’re both headed for South America. How long until they get there?
Meanwhile, Billy is on a straight course toward Puerto Rico and making great time, as is Seabiscuit. He has really made up water on the leaders, making a straight line toward the Caribbean. He looks like he is on a mission! Backspacer, Nightswimmer, Cali, and Estéban are also coming on strong.
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Speaking of Estéban, he is the winner of the first swimming challenge! He swam through cold water for an incredible 27.4 percent of his time in cold water. By cold, we mean colder than 15°C / 60°F!
Olympic champion Cullen Jones has been working with the turtles to get them to break new barriers in diving on just one breath. The results from the longest dive challenge will be posted on Friday, April 24th.
Take a step to help all leatherback sea turtles (and other animals, too)! Take the NO MORE PLASTIC! Pledge.
The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 2
Hi, I’m Rowdy Gaines, and this is Day 2 of the Great Turtle Race!
All the turtles except for Lindblad the Explorer
have exited the Gulf and appear to be heading south. She seems
reluctant to leave the Gulf before she sees a few new places. Being an
experienced traveler, she knows where she’s going and isn’t too worried
about catching up with the other turtles.
Illustration by Chris Rooney
It looks like Cali is making the best his head start. He’s near the front of the pack! Billy is heading for the east coast of the U.S.A. Does he know a shortcut? Seabiscuit seemed to be a bit lost after leaving the Gulf, but now he’s back on track. Meanwhile, Nueva Esperanza is starting to pick up speed.
Wawa Bear is making a big turn and is the farthest east of any turtle in the Race. Are Grembo Jones, Searcher, Estéban, and Nightswimmer following Wawa Bear? Maybe they’ve heard that she knows the way to the Caribbean…
Visit the interactive Race Map
to check the position of your favorite turtle. On Monday, April 20th we
will announce the results of the first swimming challenge: Which turtle
spent the most time in cold water?
Take a step to help all leatherback sea turtles (and other animals, too)! Take the NO MORE PLASTIC! Pledge.
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The Great Turtle Race Update: Day 1
Hi, this is Rowdy Gaines reporting on the first day of the Great Turtle Race! The turtles are off and swimming!
Almost all of the turtles started in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (in Canada), so they have a long way to go to reach the Caribbean. There was a bit of a bottleneck as the racers tried to get out into the open ocean, but several of the turtles are off to a fast start!
Cali was given a head start to help him after he was entangled in fishing gear. Wawa Bear seems to be keeping her distance from the rest of the turtles; she’s a big turtle who apparently needs her space.
Nueva Esperanza is also off to a good start, but some of the turtles seem to be slow getting out of the Gulf. Lindblad the Explorer, Estéban, Nightswimmer, and Backspacer need to make up some ocean, fast!
Illustration by Chris Rooney
Take a step to help all leatherback sea turtles (and other animals, too)! Take the NO MORE PLASTIC! Pledge.
Posted by Turtle Name: Estéban (Male)
Length: 153.6 cm (5 ft 1 in)
Width: 113.3 cm (3 ft 9 in)
Weight: 385 kg (850 lbs)
Coach: Amanda Beard
A native of the Latin American Caribbean, Estéban is quite the popular turtle whose amigos were swimming around the boat while he received his tag. Let’s see if he is still the life of the party down in the Caribbean around the nesting beaches!
Estéban’s cousin, Stephanie, finished 2nd in the 2007 Great Turtle Race over in the Pacific Ocean, losing to Billy’s cousin by a flipper. This time, Estéban has a secret weapon: his coach for the Race is Olympic gold medalist Amanda Beard!
